The Sabres' appearance in the Stanley Cup finals that begin Tuesday night in Dallas ought to clear up any confusion over the name of their leading scorer.

It's "SHUH-tan." Odds are you'll be hearing it a lot.

When the Slovakian takes the ice, there are no references to the little horned fellow from down below.

Satan can't melt ice or zap opponents with lightning bolts. Just a subtle shift and a little stickwork will do, sometimes a lot of stickwork.

"He's making great plays at both ends of the rink and even stepped up his physical play," linemate Geoff Sanderson said. "Miro's got no panic button out there. Most players tend to rush the play, rush the shot. Miro likes to stickhandle almost right into the net."

To ensure delivery, Satan occasionally will follow the puck into the net. He led the team with 40 goals during the season, then an ankle bruise in the first round of the playoffs sidelined him for nine games.

He picked up where he left off with a goal in a 4-2 win over Toronto in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"He's a great asset to have back in the lineup after the injury," said Curtis Brown, who centers a new line with Satan and Sanderson. "He showed all year that he's one of the premier offensive players in the league."

A holdout who missed the entire preseason, Satan signed a one-year contract with the Sabres at the airport as the team prepared to leave off for its season opener in Dallas in October.

One of 10 Sabres whose contracts expire at the end of the season, Satan will remain with Buffalo if he and the Sabres can work out the math.

"He certainly is near the top of the list of priorities," said Buffalo general manager Darcy Regier, who needed scoring after trading holdout Donald Audette this season. Audette was Buffalo's leading goal scorer in 1997-98.

"The fact that we didn't have Audette this year provided him an opportunity," Regier said. "We also saw a higher level of commitment from Miro. He was more involved in things besides just scoring goals."

Satan, a threat on the power play who also can kill penalties, was second to Audette in goals and first in points last season while playing only about 12 minutes a game.

"For about 30 games I was on the fourth line or the third line and wasn't playing with guys I wanted to play with," Satan said. "It was a tough situation for me. I needed something to happen for me to break through."

A contract squabble kept Satan out of camp. He stepped in and made an immediate impact. "The team wasn't playing very well and they decided to use me more," Satan said.

Coach Lindy Ruff upped Satan's ice time to around 20 minutes a game and put him on the penalty-killing unit.

Buffalo survived much of the playoffs without Satan, but the Sabres are glad to have him back.

When he turns too suddenly or stops too quickly, Satan gets a sharp reminder of his injury.

It happened in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Ottawa. A slap shot by Sabres defenseman Alexei Zhitnik struck him square on the right ankle. It took much longer than expected to heal.

"I knew right away I was done for a game or two," Satan said. "Then they took X-rays and said it's not broken. It's going to be a couple days, maybe a week and I'll be back. But it wouldn't heal."

When Satan returned, he formed a line with Brown and Sanderson. They clicked.

"He creates something almost every time he's out there," Sanderson said. "Miro's the playmaker on the line. If Brownie and I can get the puck back in the offensive zone and look for Miro, it's just a matter of getting it to him and getting open."